Photo: Bruce Emmerling · CC BY-SA 4.0Norfolk reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns
On crimes reported to the FBI by Norfolk’s police in 2023–2025, it grades D for safety: #78 of 84 graded towns in Virginia, and #238 of 325 U.S. cities over 100,000.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of VA” is every other Virginia city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Norfolk
3 of the 4 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 4 Virginia towns on Norfolk’s borders, 4 have a Safety Grade: Virginia Beach (B−), Chesapeake (C), Hampton (C−), Portsmouth (D−). Neighbors ↓
Homicides: above U.S. cities overall
Norfolk’s police reported 26 homicides to the FBI in 2025. Over 2023–2025 that is 15.3 per 100,000 residents a year, 1.7 times the rest of Virginia (8.8) and 2.7 times all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (5.7). Violent crime ↓
Robberies: 1.5 times the rest of Virginia
79.6 robberies per 100,000 residents a year over 2023–2025 (164 reported in 2025), 1.5 times the rest of Virginia (52.1) and about the same as all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables (79.4). Violent crime ↓
Against other big cities
Among the 325 U.S. cities over 100,000 we grade, Norfolk reports less crime per resident than 27% (#238). Places like it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Norfolk’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Homicides and robberies
Norfolk’s police reported 26 homicides, 164 robberies and 913 violent crimes in all to the FBI in 2025. By year, against the rest of Virginia and all U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables.
Show as a table
| Year | Norfolk | Rest of Virginia | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 27.0 | 11.6 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 18.6 | 10.9 | 6.8 |
| 2024 | 16.1 | 8.5 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 11.3 | 7.0 | 4.6 |
Homicides per 100,000 residents
Show as a table
| Year | Norfolk | Rest of Virginia | U.S. cities (FBI tables) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 129 | 59.7 | 95.5 |
| 2023 | 90.1 | 57.2 | 90.6 |
| 2024 | 77.2 | 51.3 | 81.9 |
| 2025 | 71.3 | 47.8 | 66.0 |
Robberies per 100,000 residents
Reported crime is falling
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Virginia.
Show as a table
| Year | Norfolk property | Rest of Virginia property | Norfolk violent | Rest of Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 48.7 | 23.2 | 7.0 | 3.2 |
| 2023 | 38.2 | 23.3 | 5.4 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 37.7 | 22.1 | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| 2025 | 31.5 | 19.3 | 4.0 | 3.1 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
For every 1,000 residents, about 32 property crimes reported
And about 4 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
8,169 crimes reported in 2025
913 violent and 7,256 property, as reported to the FBI by Norfolk’s police.
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
115 people died in crashes on Norfolk’s roads in 2019–2023
Norfolk had 112 fatal crashes in five years, in which 115 people died; 32 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 24 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 9.8 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Virginia towns of 100,000+ people (7.8, 8 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Norfolk and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | D | 4.7 | 35.8 |
| Virginia Beach | B− | 0.9 | 15.8 |
| Chesapeake | C | 3.6 | 16.8 |
| Hampton | C− | 2.7 | 29.1 |
| Portsmouth | D− | 7.8 | 38.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | D | 4.7 | 35.8 |
| Alexandria | C | 1.9 | 22.3 |
| Richmond | D | 3.8 | 34.1 |
| Newport News | D | 8.0 | 24.0 |
The five graded Virginia towns closest to Norfolk’s population (231,013), by grade.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Norfolk. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Norfolk’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (230,068 in 2025); our figure for Norfolk is 231,013 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Norfolk
Is Norfolk, VA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Norfolk reports more crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #78 of 84 in Virginia. Its police reported 4.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Norfolk?
4.7 violent and 35.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Virginia reports 3.2 and 21.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is crime going up or down in Norfolk?
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings.
How many homicides were there in Norfolk in 2025?
Norfolk’s police reported 26 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 11.3 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Norfolk safer than Virginia Beach?
Virginia Beach reports less crime per resident than Norfolk: Virginia Beach grades B− for safety and Norfolk D. Virginia Beach’s police reported 0.9 violent and 15.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Norfolk?
Norfolk’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Norfolk”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Norfolk.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.